I Choose You
by letherfly
Summary: ONE SHOT. "Do you want me to wear jeans on the beach?"


For Sindy, _Beach_, because YAS!

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"Do you want me to wear jeans on the beach?"

"No," Brian replied sheepishly.

"Then you have to let me go shopping," she wriggled free of the grip he had on her hips, "I promise I'll be back in time for you to make me dinner."

He groaned as he followed her out of the bedroom. "Is rice still a bad subject," he asked jokingly.

Olivia moved about their living room, scooping her purse and keys as she made her way towards the door. She stopped when she got to the door and turned to smile at Brian, mouthing an _I love you_ before slipping out the door.

"Don't ask me about rice ever again," she yelled in mock anger over her shoulder as the door clicked behind her.

He shook his head and made his way towards the kitchen to scour the cupboards for inspiration. Their life had fallen back together as quickly as it had fallen apart. Their decision to part had been hasty and unconvincing to each other and to themselves. Surviving Lewis had been a joint affair that they were in together, whether they knew it or not.

Their relationship was still a work in progress as it would always be, but time and communication had made them stronger. Still, Olivia had her ways and had casually slid some folded papers onto his nightstand before leaving for work two days prior. When Brian awoke he unfolded the papers to find an itinerary to the Bahamas with Olivia's handwriting scrawled across the bottom, _You deserve a vacation for putting up with me, Love, Liv._

.

Their apartment was quiet when she got home; she half expected to find him watching ESPN with a stack of take out menus for her to review. What she found was Brian in the kitchen with the aroma of chicken in the air. She smiled inwardly that he had taken her up on her request for homemade dinner.

"Hey babe, you hungry?"

"Yea," she replied as she set her things down and made her way around the breakfast bar. She leaned against the counter, trying to stay out of his way as he moved about. Each time he got closer, she reached out to touch him, to connect in some way.

"What did you buy?"

"Well not a string bikini, if that's what you're asking," she smirked. He finished setting out their dinner on the breakfast bar and turned to pull her into his arms.

"Hi," he whispered, his lips inches from hers.

"Hi," she whispered back as she closed the distance and kissed him softly, soundly.

"I made brown rice for dinner." His tone was light, joking as he rubbed her back a few times before releasing her. "Come on lets, eat."

.

Given that he had spent their Saturday afternoon alone in their apartment cooking dinner, she handed him the remote and told him to pick what he wanted. That she would cuddle with him, no matter how bad the movie. Still, she groaned when he found a Die Hard marathon on tv. Brian smirked at her and reached over to pull her against him.

"I can't wait to get out of here and have you all to myself," he whispered against her hair.

"You have me, Bri. Always."

The seriousness of her statement caused him to shift, so he could pull her chin up to meet his gaze. Her cheeks flushed and she smiled shyly. He kissed her forehead and settled back into the couch, his arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders, their legs a tangled mess propped up by the coffee table.

"Being sweet won't get you out of Die Hard 2."

"I know," she replied as she let her eyelids start to close.

"What happened to spending time together," he chided when her breathing became shallow and even.

She moaned and tried to hide her face in his chest, determined to drift back to sleep. He laughed aloud, sending vibrations through her. She picked up her head and smiled sleepily at him.

"I'm up, I'm up," she laughed.

Her smile was something that warmed his heart. After all she had been through with Lewis and the rough patches in their relationship, it was good to see her happy. They had decided early on that spending time together would be dictated by them and not their jobs, they were going to leave work on time and not bring their work into their relationship. It was a struggle they were navigating together.

"We should be doing something more productive like packing," she murmured as she settled back against his chest.

"Packing? I can think of better things," he retorted, flashing a boyish grin.

"Easy Cassidy, save it for vacation."

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They awoke late the next morning and hurriedly moved about their apartment, in a packing frenzy. Brian sat on the edge of their bed and laid back between their suitcases.

"Bri, is that seriously all you're bringing?" she asked incredulously as she eyed his half empty suitcase.

"You told me to save it for vacation, I didn't think I needed to bring many clothes."

He sat up, smirking at her and she threw a bag of toiletries into her suitcase. Olivia shook her head and smiled. His arms found her waist and he pulled her into his lap and leaned them back to lie between the suitcases.

"Hey," he whispered against her shoulder.

"We're going to miss the flight," she whispered back.

"I got you something to wear before we go."

"I'm not wearing a string bikini in an airport. Or ever," she replied dryly.

"It's not a string bikini. But you should rethink your stance on that," he smirked. He reached behind her and grabbed something from his suitcase. Olivia's detective skills kicked in and she reached for his hand behind her, attempting to figure out what he was concealing.

"Stop being nosey," he chided as he kissed her softly, letting the kiss linger before pulling back.

"I love you," she replied as she gave up resisting and snuggled against his chest.

"I love you, more than you will ever know," he whispered against her hair.

"I think I have an idea," she whispered back to him.

He shifted their bodies between the suitcases, so he could prop himself up to see her face. She looked up at him, still unsure of what he had hidden behind her back. His movements were slow and deliberate as he placed a small box between them on the bed.

"I'd like you to wear this… forever," he began slowly, carefully, opening the box so that the ring faced her, "Marry me, Liv."

The flash of emotions in her eyes made Brian smile. The question, the ring had caught her completely off guard as he had intended. He chuckled and kissed her forehead as she struggled to find the right words.

"I'm not going to be perfect all the time, in fact I'm a mess most of the time, but I love you," she replied as her eyes began to fill with tears.

"I like messes, especially your messes," he replied, his voice low and laced with emotion.

"Yes," she whispered, "I choose you, I'll marry you." She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him on top of her, and sealing their fate with a sound kiss.

_Tell the world that we finally got it all right_

_I choose you_

_I will become yours and you will become mine_

_I choose you_


End file.
